Calabasas-based The Cheesecake Factory Inc. announced on Wednesday that it recently repurchased 1.5 million shares of its common stock for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $50 million.

The repurchase was made pursuant to an existing share repurchase authorization provided by the restaurant chain’s board of directors to buy back up to 6,000,000 shares in the open market from time to time as market conditions warrant. There are approximately 2.4 million shares remaining in the current repurchase authorization, although the authorization does not require the Company to purchase shares and may be terminated at any time.

“We believe the share repurchase represents an excellent investment opportunity for us at this time and an effective use of capital,” said CEO David Overton in a statement.